Pact vs Step CI
Pact
pact.io
Step CI
stepci.comSide by side
| Figure | Pact | Step CI |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $115.42/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 2 |
| Spec score · API Development Tools | 8.9 (#5) | 7.1 (#31) |
| Spec score · API Testing Tools | 8.8 (#6) | 7.0 (#33) |
| Spec score · Integration Testing Tools | 8.8 (#5) | 7.1 (#23) |
| Integrations | PactFlow's Bi-Directional Contract Testing integrates with OpenAPI and lists Cypress, Postman and Wiremock as tools for writing contracts. | The homepage lists Node.js, Docker, GitHub, GitLab, and Jest integrations. |
| Purpose | Pact is a code-first tool for testing HTTP and message integrations with contract tests. | Step CI describes itself as an open-source API test automation framework for security, performance, and load testing. |
| Security | PactFlow says it encrypts data at rest with AES-256, enforces TLS 1.2 or higher, and stores data and backups in AWS Sydney. | The homepage says tests can run on a user's local network and CI/CD; the support plan includes a monthly security report. |
| Support | Pact's official site directs users to documentation, a Slack channel and partner support; PactFlow plans list email support for Team and dedicated account and customer care for Enterprise. | The support plan covers support with an SLA, onboarding, training hours, prioritized feature requests and bug fixes, and early access to new features. |
Plans
Pact
- PactFlow StarterFree
- Pact open-source toolingFree
- PactFlow Team (yearly)$115.42 a month
- PactFlow Team (monthly)$127 a month
- PactFlow EnterprisePriced on request
In their own words
Pact
Pact is a free, code-first tool for testing HTTP and message integrations with contract tests. Automated consumer tests create contracts describing concrete interactions between consumer and provider applications. Teams can then test each side in isolation against that shared contract, without deploying the entire system. Pact implementations are available for more than 10 languages, including JavaScript, Java, .NET, Go, Python, Ruby, Swift and Objective-C, Scala, Rust, PHP, and C++. Its CLI includes mock and stub servers, a provider verifier, a broker client, and a plugin CLI. The open-source Pact Broker shares contracts and verification results; teams can host and administer it themselves, and use its CI/CD workflows to check whether application versions can be deployed together. The verifier supports HTTP and asynchronous and synchronous messages, while plugins include gRPC, Avro, and CSV support. Documentation includes recipes for tools and scenarios such as GraphQL, Cypress, Kafka, and AWS Lambda. Pact is most useful when teams control both consumer and provider development. The free Broker is self-hosted, leaving its security, maintenance, and upgrades to its operator.